Humidity issues

[Dcallen89]

I live in the black hills in south dakota and the humidity around here is really really low. Ive been havin trouble gettin the humidity up past 30% or 40% for my russian tortoise. I have moss in the tank and i mist it 3 or 4 times a day but it still dont work. Does anyone have any suggestions to get it up higher? I live on military housing so i cant do any crazy things to my house or anything.

 

[GeoTerraTestudo]

I have good news: you do not need to raise the humidity higher than that. Russian tortoises come from the grasslands and deserts of Central Asia, where the climate is similar to the Great Plains and the American West. Like desert tortoises, sulcatas, and leopard tortoises, they are adapted to low humidity environments, as long as their substrate provides a humid microclimate. As long as their substrate retains moisture without getting damp (coco coir, cypress mulch, orchid bark, or even soil), then they can burrow down when they want to experience a higher relative humidity, and then come out when they want to experience the lower ambient humidity.

 

[Dcallen89]

Thank you that's very helpful. I was worried cause the petsmart guy was saying it needs to be around 50 or so but I was gonna ask people who actually knew about tortoises before changing anything

 

[ascott]

Also..if you find a need to bump humidity in the future you can cover part of the enclosure top...still allowing for any lights to do their job of course...

 

[Dcallen89]

Would just plain old Plexiglas work if I needed to do that at any point?

 

[Tom]

Are we talking about a baby or an adult?

You can offer a humid hide either way. Just keep it on the warm side of the enclosure.

 

[Dcallen89]

Honestly I'm not 100% sure unfortunately. I bought her from a pet store and from what I read ones from a pet store are usually a little older. Hopefully ill have pics up soon